Male, Jul 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm hug from Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu as he arrived at the airport in Male on Friday. Maldives Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, Finance Minister and Minister of Homeland Security were also present when PM Modi landed in Male.

PM Modi said that he is "deeply touched" by Muizzu's gesture of coming to the airport to receive him and expressed confidence that the ties between two nations will scale new heights of progress in the coming times.

"Landed in Male. Deeply touched by the gesture of President Muizzu to come to the airport to welcome me. I am confident that India-Maldives friendship will scale new heights of progress in the times to come," PM Modi posted on X.

Chants of ‘Vande Mataram‘ echoed as PM Modi reached Maldives for a two-day State visit. PM Modi, who visited Maldives at the invitation of President Muizzu, will participate in the country’s 60th Independence Day celebrations as the Guest of Honour.

This is PM Modi’s third visit to the Maldives and notably the first by any head of state or government since Muizzu assumed office.

Earlier, on July 22, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that PM Modi's visit will not only contribute further to consolidating strong ties between the two nations but also enhance peace, prosperity and security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

"The relationship with the Maldives is comprehensive and multifaceted. It's been paid attention to by leadership at the highest levels and we believe that this visit by the Prime Minister will contribute further to consolidating these strong ties and contribute to peace, prosperity and security in the Indian Ocean Region that both of us inhabit," Foreign Secretary Misri stated during a special media briefing.

The two leaders will also take stock of the progress in the implementation of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a 'Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership', adopted during the State Visit of the President of Maldives to India in October 2024.

"We have always been the first on hand to respond to the needs of Maldives in times whenever it has faced crisis, natural or man-made. There has been a robust, political relationship which has been bolstered by regular visits at high-levels," said Misri.

"This joint vision, in a sense, has become the guiding framework for our ties. This year already, in the first six months, we have seen nearly half a dozen ministerial level visits from the Maldives. The speaker of the Maldives Parliament visited India. In fact, the very first engagement this year that the External Affairs Minister held was with the Foreign Minister of Maldives," he added.

(IANS)

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